Back Home
by Luke Ario
Summary: Lucario is a Lucario living with his girlfriend, Medicham, on Mt. Cornet - but when a Rayquaza knocks the two of them off of their home they must get back home - and to each other. This isn't easy, though; many miles from home, Lucario must face extreme environments and overwhelming odds to survive until the final battle.
1. The Village

Before you start to read this story I would like to introduce myself. Obviously I cannot say my name but I will say that I am an aspiring author. My wish is to right science fiction and fantasy novels for young adults or teenagers. So, without further ado, here is my story.

**Back Home**

All I could see was fire. My meditation had been disturbed by an explosion and now I was surrounded by a ring of fire. I jumped up and ran through the flames, not worrying about the fact that my blue fur was catching fire.

"Medicham!" I yelled, choking on smoke.

And then I saw a large, green serpent flying above the mountain. It had black eyes with a yellow iris on each and I could see sharp fangs in its smirking mouth. It was Rayquaza. And I could have sworn I saw a blue Pokémon on its back...

But before I could give it a taste of my Aura Sphere it spat more fire at me. I jumped back but, instead of landing on the icy floor, I fell off the edge of the mountain.

"Medicham!" I screamed as I fell, frantically searching for her but to no avail. I realised just how high the mountain was and, with cold dread creeping into my heart, knew that I was going to die. I curled into a ball, waiting to hit the hard ground – but instead my landing was soft and there was a squawk. I opened my eyes and saw brown feathers.

Against uncanny odds, I had landed on a Pidgeot!

I had lived in Eterna Forest as a child. I didn't just live in trees though – I lived in a whole massive village!

In the time that humans refer to as "the medieval ages" a Lucario had decided that Fighting Type Pokémon should do everything as humans do. It was a ridiculous idea and he gave up everything for it; his parents abandoned him, his partner left him and he was attacked any time he was spotted by a Pokémon.

But he persevered. He befriended a Galade who helped him to create a hut. It was simple, made of wood and not too well made, but it held and it was warm enough to live in. So he and Galade stayed there, and after a while other fighting Pokémon asked for help from the pair.

And so the civilisation began. Over the years the huts became stronger, bigger, and any Pokémon, if they were or could evolve into a fighting type Pokémon, could live there.

That Lucario was my great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. You'd think I would be powerful and respected, what with my father being the mayor of the town. You'd be wrong.

After a hard day of lessons at school I was about to run out of school. We had been learning about how to do a Force Palm. Well, by we I mean my class. I was still learning Counter.

"Hey!" a voice yelled. "Riolu! Come here!"

I sighed and turned around. In front of me stood a Machop, with a Tyrogue and a Croagunk behind him. "Did you struggle with your Counter today? Did poor little Riolu get it wrong?"

A crowd was gathering and laughing at me. It was always like this.

"Try and counter THIS!" As quick as a flash Machop Mach Punched me in the stomach.

"Hey, back off!" A black fox leaped between Machop and I. "Stop bullying him!"

"Back, Zorua, off or I'll take you out, too!" Machop warned.

"No you won't!" said Zorua's friend, Shinx, jumping to his side.

"Aw," said Machop in a mocking voice. "Has Zorua's little girlfriend come to defend him?"

You may be wondering why Zorua and Shinx, two Pokémon who are not fighting types, were in this village. Well, it's a sad story. Zorua comes from the Unova region, a far off place where Pokémon much unlike ourselves roam. Zorua was kidnapped by some evil group known as Team Plasma, and they had some plan of ruling the world using him. But when it didn't work they threw him out of their plane, which was flying over Eterna forest. He only survived by turning into a grey pigeon Pokémon which he says is called a Pidove.

He spent a week trying to survive in the wilderness but he couldn't. When Shinx found him whilst she was out exploring one day he was close to death. She tried to bring him home but her parents did not allow it. They threw Zorua out, but Shinx was so angry that she ran away too, dragging Zorua with her. Eventually she came to the village. We don't usually just let any old Pokémon into our village but we are compassionate and we couldn't leave Zorua close to death, so we let them into our city.

But back to the present. At Machop's comments Shinx growled, static electricity buzzing through her fur. I knew my friends would fight the bullies if I didn't interfere. So I stood up and, with all my strength, I unleashed a Rock Smash.

It wasn't powerful but it got Machop's attention. "Oh, you're in for it now!" he said, getting ready to destroy me.

"Hey!" yelled a voice. "Leave him alone!"

Machop was shocked at the sudden outburst and so was everyone else. Because barging through the crowd was none other than Meditite.

Big deal, I hear you say. She's just a Meditite. But she's not. Everyone loved Meditite. She was the smartest and most powerful Pokémon in the whole village. Machop had a massive crush on her. So did Tyrogue and Croagunk. So did _I_. Every male Pokémon in the village did, all except Zorua (not his type, because he's a dark type).

"B-b-but..." Machop stammered.

"I'm fed up of you bullying Riolu!" Meditite yelled. She turned to me. "I'll teach you to fight strong," she said, holding out her hand. We locked eyes and I was paralysed for a second, but then I reached my hand out and she helped me up.

The next three weeks were bliss. Me and Meditite spent every day after school together, training hard. She taught me how to do a Counter in just half an hour and I learnt Force Palm in another hour. I spent all of my time with Meditite, and I grew happier and happier over the weeks. In fact, I grew so happy that I almost evolved. I must admit that I did slightly neglect Zorua and Shinx, but I knew they would understand. They had each other and I had Meditite.

But one day, while I was dreaming about Meditite I was woken by my mother. "Riolu, wake up!" she said.

"Wh-what?" I said.

"Dialga and Palkia are fighting right above the village! You must get out of here before they destroy it!"

"But what about you?" I asked, still half asleep.

"I have to defend the village," she said. "Just go!"

So I ran through the village. I was searching all around for Meditite until I found her. "Meditite!" I called and she pushed through the crowds of young Pokémon to reach me. Together we ran through the crowds and out of the village. We were quite a bit ahead of everyone else.

I could hear my father shouting an order but I didn't know what it was. Then the village elders, for some reason, started to circle the village.

And then the unexpected happened. Dialga used Roar of time, while Palkia used Spacial Rend. The two powerful moves colliding created a large explosion which would have destroyed the whole of Sinnoh. But the village elders had saved it. They had used Counter, and the explosion had turned into an implosion. It had destroyed the village and everyone I knew, but Meditite and I were safe. I cried for ages and I couldn't stop.

Eventually, once I had drained the tears from my eyes, we moved on. We climbed Mt. Cornet and settled down in a cave at the top. Meditite evolved and, once I had got over the grief of the village's destruction, so did I. And that's where we stayed for four years.

Until Rayquaza attacked us.

Just one more thing. As I have previously stated, I am an aspiring author and I have two blogs to help my dream take flight, so I would be forever grateful if you would read them.

This one has my science fiction and fantasy stories on it: . /

This one has stories from my life on it (not as boring as it sounds, trust me): . .uk/

Thank you in advance.


	2. In the Deep End

_Here is the second chapter of Back Home. If you like it, please give me some constructive criticism to help me make it better. If you don't, please give me some constructive criticism to help me make it better._

I opened my eyes. I was still on the Pidgeot. I must have fallen unconscious after I landed on it and it hadn't wanted to shrug me off its back while I was out cold. I sat up and looked around. I couldn't see Mt. Cornet anywhere. In fact, I couldn't see any land anywhere. We were out at sea!

"Hey, what's the big deal?" the Pidgeot shouted, either out of anger or to be heard over the roaring of the wind. "You can't just fall out of the sky and expect a free ride!"

"S-sorry," I said. "Could you please turn back? I've got to get back to Mt. Cornet."

"Oh no," the Pidgeot said. "I'm not going back. I'm migrating to Kanto, and if I go back now it'll take me ages to make up the distance again!"

"But it's important!" I protested.

"And my migration is important, too!" the Pidgeot retorted.

I realised that it was useless trying to argue with this bird brain. I stood up on its back slowly and looked down at the ocean below.

"What are you doing?" the Pidgeot squawked.

"If you can't take me I'll just have to swim back to Sinnoh," I replied.

"But it's miles! When we get to Kanto you can ask some humans for help! Swimming would be crazy!"

"I'll be OK, I'm a Lucario" I said and jumped off of its back.

I hit the water and went under but I swam straight back up. I looked around me but realised that I didn't have a clue which way it was to Sinnoh. I could wait for a Pokémon to pass and ask them but how long would it be before one came along?

I was just trying to think of a solution when a something wrapped itself around my ankle. I gasped as it tried to drag me under, but I fought hard against it to try and keep up. Unfortunately it was strong and it finally brought me under.

I tried to hold my breath. I can hold it for about three minutes but I couldn't tell how long I would be under for. I shot an Aura Sphere down at the creature but I missed. I prepared to fire another but it reached a tentacle toward my head and placed something on it.

Or more correctly, placed my head _in _what had been in its tentacle. For some reason or other my captor had put my head in a bubble. I breathed in a satisfying gasp of air and relaxed.

For the first time I saw what my captor was. It was an Octillery. I didn't know where it was taking me or why but I was determined to find out.

"Hey, where are we going?" I asked.

It either ignored me or didn't hear me, so I said it louder. "HEY! Where are you taking me?"

This time it did respond. It looked at me, then pointed into the distance. For a moment I didn't see what it was pointing at but then I saw a distant spot, which was growing larger by the second.

After a few minutes I realised that it was a bubble and another few minutes revealed to me that it was absolutely massive. In fact, I could see buildings inside it!

When we reached it I saw that it was at least the size of a small town. Octillery took a run up (or rather a swim up) and charged at the bubble. We fell straight through it, onto hard ground.

Octillery dragged me up and popped the bubble on my head. It took me by the scruff of the neck and marched me into the town. I looked back at where we had entered but there wasn't even a mark. I looked up around and I felt a great sense of awe, with a little bit of homesickness mixed in. This place was just like an underwater version of my old village, except more suited to water type Pokémon. Out of the huts peered families of Quagsire and Empoleon and Crawdaunt. The huts themselves were green and slimy looking – they seemed to be made of some sort of seaweed material which was as hard as cement.

When we reached what I supposed was the town centre there was a large building. It was obviously made of the same seaweed type stuff as all the other buildings but it had been painted gold. It looked very important – even royal, like a palace.

Guarding the entrance were a pair of large Samurott, swords drawn. They stopped us and one asked, "What is your business?"

"I found this Lucario in the waters above the city," Octillery replied.

The Pokémon moved aside to let us pass. Octillery pushed me forward and we entered the palace.

The inside was massive. The halls were covered in golden paint and there were red carpets laid out neatly on the floor. We passed many rooms, full of all sorts of Pokémon – but all of them water type.

Then we reached the chamber room. Another two Samurott guarded this but, again, Octillery got us past and the massive doors swung open.

The room was painted, again, with gold but it had jewels dug into the walls; rubies and sapphires, diamonds and pearls, emeralds and crystals. There were different Pokémon parts on shelves on the walls; a Marowak's skull, an Alakazam's spoons, a Farfetch'd's stick of celery. There were several powerful water type Pokémon sitting at a long, wooden table. And in the middle was a massive throne.

It was at least as tall as a Charizard and no less impressive, and it looked like it should belong to a majestic and powerful Pokémon, like a Milotic, a Lapras or maybe even a Suicune. But it wasn't. Instead, sitting in the throne with a golden crown and a long, purple cape was a Mudkip.

"So, what do we have here?" it said, looking at me with clear disgust.

"I found this Lucario whilst I was doing a patrol of the waters, your highness," Octillery said.

"Hmm," the Mudkip said. "What were you doing in our waters? Were you spying on us?"

"No!" I yelled. "It's a long story, but I was on a Pidgeot and I needed to get to Sinnoh so I jumped in the water to swim back."

The Mudkip laughed. "Your lies don't fool me. You were spying on us, ready to invade us and destroy our city!" He thought for a second and then said, "Throw him in the dungeons."

"NO!" I screamed. "You've got it wrong! I'm no spy! You can't punish an innocent Pokémon!"

"Clearly you don't know who I am," the Mudkip said. "I am King Mudkip, ruler of Atlantis! I can do whatever I want!"

"Atlantis?" I said. "Isn't that a mythical city under the sea?"

"Not mythical," King Mudkip said. "My great great great great grandfather discovered it two-hundred years ago and he returned it to its former glory. As the years have gone by my ancestors have ruled the place and now I rule!"

"That's quite impressive for a Mudkip," I said.

"I always liked my basic stage. Everyone else seemed to like it, too. So I decided to keep this on at all times," he said and showed me something around his neck. It was a shiny, silver necklace and in the centre was a large grey pebble – an everstone.

"But you aren't as powerful in that stage, are you?" I said.

King Mudkip looked as if he had been slapped in the face. "HOW DARE YOU!" He yelled. "You have no right to say such nonsense! Take him to the dungeons! NOW!"

But just as Octillery was about to take me I took a swipe at him with my metal claw. He dodged but it didn't matter. I blasted an aura sphere toward King Mudkip. He dodged, too, but it gave me enough time to run past the Samurott and out of the massive door.

And as I ran I heard the angry voice of King Mudkip screaming, "Well don't just stand there! GO AND GET HIM!"

_If you haven't already, please visit my blogs to see some non-Pokémon related stories. If you have, visit them again! I update every week so there's always something to read._

_This is my proper story blog: . .uk _

_And here is my life story blog: . .uk_

_Thanks in advance._


	3. Escape Atlantis

_I hope you have thus far enjoyed Back Home. I expect you have because I don't seem to have any comments left for me for improvements. PLEASE do leave comments , because I need all the help I can get. Anyway, just enjoy the story._

I didn't have a clue where I was going, but I knew it was the wrong way. The corridors were unfamiliar and I had several times climbed staircases. Unfortunately, turning back was a bad idea because I was being pursued by several Samurott.

I took a right turn... and bumped into some Swampert. That crafty Mudkip must have sent them to corner me. I tried to turn back but the Samurott had caught up with me and were blocking my path. I was trapped and I had only one choice. I would have to fight my way past the Pokémon.

But then is saw something in the corner of my eye, and I had an idea.

I quickly conjured an aura sphere and threw it at the feet of the Samurott. There was a small explosion and dust was thrown up from the floor. I did the same to the Swampert with a similar result. Then I kicked the window that I was standing beside and jumped onto the window sill.

I looked down and instantly regretted it. I must have been on the very top floor and I would surely die if I jumped. But I knew the Samurott and Swampert would be recovering and I had to act fast, so I did jump.

I didn't panic – I just analysed the situation and found a solution. My mind can work incredibly quickly when I want it to and I had only travelled one floor when I used endure.

The time between my jumping and my hitting the ground seemed to take forever. Even with endure I was still scared. Finally I hit the ground. The pain was terrible! My head was first to hit and I thought it was going to split right open. Then the pain vibrated through the rest of my body as it fell to the ground, limp.

I felt faint but I wasn't quite unconscious. I dragged myself up and stumbled around, looking for something to heal with. My hand clasped around a branch – a small sitrus berry tree was standing in my way. I came to my senses, stopping myself before I could ripped it from its place and I took some berries, eating them.

I felt much stronger, and just in time. A beautiful wailing sound came from behind me, but I was too intelligent to be fooled by such a sound. For behind me, snaking its way up the road was a Milotic.

I turned and ran. I figured that if I kept going in one constant direction I would eventually reach the bubble's boundary. I sensed Milotic shoot a water gun at me from behind and jumped to the side to avoid it. I got out of the way with inches to spare.

The road ahead of me was blocked by several buildings clustered together, so I ducked into an alleyway instead. I didn't think Milotic would have seen me, but I was wrong. As I came out of the alleyway Milotic jumped _over_ it and landed in front of me.

I couldn't stop myself from going into it so I didn't try. Instead I placed my palm on the mermaid Pokémon, focused my energy into my palm and released.

A white light blasted from my palm with explosive force, sending Milotic flying. Force Palm is one of the strongest moves in my arsenal and I only use it in emergencies.

I ran on for another minute, completely undisturbed. After that minute I reached the edge of the bubble. Without halting I protracted my claws, slashed at the bubble and jumped through the hole made.

I held my breath as the cold water hit me. I was quite far from the surface and I needed to swim fast. I used Extremespeed to swim faster than I would usually, but I was still not convinced that I would make it. However, I covered half the distance in thirty seconds and I felt more confident. I was surprised that no one had come after me...

Something large crashed into me, sending me flying through the water. I looked back just as a Magikarp ran into me again. I prepared to defend myself but another hit me from behind. And another. And another. There was a whole army of Magikarps, tackling me left, right and centre.

After another thirty seconds of this battering I finally managed to fight back. One charged and I Thunder Punched it in the middle of the forehead. Another came at me and I Thunder Punched that as well. The stupid creatures kept tackling and getting knocked out by my electrified fist. In thirty seconds I had defeated them all.

But then another figure flew past me. It was blue and winged and it had a long tail waving behind it. It was a Mantine. And another creature sat upon it; with a golden crown and a purple cape, Mudkip stood on the Mantine's back.

"Magikarps – evolve!" he yelled.

So far King Mudkip's bubble city had impressed me greatly. How his ancestors had gathered huge amounts of materials down to the bottom of the sea was beyond me, as was the creation of that massive bubble. But in the next thirty seconds I was totally astounded. The Magikarp started coughing and, one by one, they each spat out an everstone.

I didn't know whether to say "Wow," or "Uh-oh." The Magikarp turned white and their forms started to twist and contort, changing into the beast of a Pokémon that everyone fears.

"Gyarados," I muttered.

The Pokémon turned blue and their heads turned toward me. Not only was King Mudkip ordering them to attack me, but I had already defeated them. They wanted revenge.

They came for me and I swam. I'd used up two minutes under the water; another minute and I wouldn't be able to hold my breath any longer.

Despite my Extremespeed I wasn't fast enough. A Gyarados swam ahead of me and aimed a Hyper Beam at me. I deflected it with a quick Aura Sphere and the great beast stopped, unable to attack straight after its powerful attack.

I swam on but three more Gyarados swam ahead of me. I shot Aura Spheres at them but they were strong and they resisted it. All three shot a Hyper beam, and only a well timed Protect could save me.

My lungs were aching by now, but the Gyarados were retreating. I was confused before I heard King Mudkip scream "He's mine!"

I felt something pull on my ears. King Mudkip, seeming to think that he was more powerful than me, had tried to take me down himself. I was going to just Thunder Punch him but I thought that would be a bit harsh. Instead I reached for the necklace around his neck and pulled it off.

King Mudkip gasped, letting go of my ears. I looked back as I swam and he exploded into white light. He didn't just go through one evolution. He went through two! The energy that had been stored inside him for so long was released, knocking out every Gyarados around him (after seeing their king in danger they had rushed to try and catch me again).

"No! My form! My lovely form!" wailed King Mudkip – or should I say King Swampert – as soon as his evolution was complete. "I liked being a Mudkip! Curse you, Lucario!"

As I swam King Swampert and his city turned into tiny dots. I reached the surface just in time, took a deep mouthful of air and looked around.

Fortunately a Pokémon was just passing over me. "Hey!" I yelled. "I need some help!"

The Pokémon flew toward me and I saw with shock that it was the same Pidgeot that had brought me all the way out to sea.

"It's you!" I said.

"Hey, you're that Lucario who hitched a lift earlier!" it said.

"I thought you were migrating to Kanto?" I asked, confused at its presence here.

"Well, er, I did get there but... well, I found out that it's actually still summer so I shouldn't be going to Kanto for another five months."

I was bewildered. I knew that Pidgeot were bird brained but I didn't know that they were quite this stupid! "Will you give me a lift back to Sinnoh now?" I asked.

"Well, I'm going there now," Pidgeot said. "I don't see why not."

So I climbed on its back and we flew toward home.

_I do feel like a bit of an idiot. For two weeks now I have said "Come look at my blog using this web address," only to realise now that I can't put a web address in. Well, no matter. I am determined to make you find my blog whether you like it or not. So here are my instructions: Go onto Google and type in "Lucas S. Robinson". With luck the top result should (please note the word should) be my blog. If you find on there a story called the Beetle then you know you're in the right place._

_Please don't just ignore me and go and do something else. I would appreciate as many people viewing my blog as possible. Thank you._


	4. A Blazing Foe

_Here is part four of Back Home. Please don't refrain from leaving a handy comment to help me. Or just enjoy the story._

"There it is! Sinnoh!"

I woke up. I was still on Pidgeot. That was a relief. I sat up and looked out to the horizon in the direction that we were going towards. There was an island and I could tell by the distinct shape of Mt. Cornet that we were, indeed, approaching my home region.

"Yes!" I cried. "I'm coming, Medicham!"

It seemed to take ages to get to the shores, but that could have just been the anticipation of getting there. I saw familiar Pokémon there; Shellos and Wingull and even a Luxray.

"We should be at Mt. Cornet within an hour, if you'll wait tha- SQUAWK!"

The squawk that Pidgeot had made had been in response to the bolt of lightning that had hit his belly. He fell suddenly limp and dropped to the ground. I used protect on the two of us so that we wouldn't get badly injured when we hit the floor, but Pidgeot had already fainted.

I brought down the shield and tried to wake Pidgeot. I got a small groan out of him.

"Are you OK, Pidgeot?" I asked.

"Uh... no... don't worry about me... I'll survive... you get back to your girl..."

And Pidgeot fell unconscious again. I decided to obey his wish. I couldn't help the bird and he didn't need help, just a rest. I dragged him toward a tree and lay him underneath it, safe in the shade.

I looked around to see what had shot us. I saw a fleeting glance of something blue, and it looked familiar, though I didn't know where from. It dashed away quickly, but I was on its tail.

"Hey! Come back!" I yelled. I ran after it but it was very fast. We ran into a forest and the Pokémon disappeared. I stopped, panting for breath. That Pokémon could only be one thing. The star shaped point of its tail and the three golden rings on its front legs... it could only be the Luxray that I had seen on the beach earlier.

I knew I was heading in the general direction of Mt. Cornet so I kept walking through the forest. I was starving, having only eaten some sitrus berries in the last twenty four hours, so I took the chance to grab any berries or rogue poffins that a clumsy trainer may have dropped.

I was painfully aware of where I was – I was in Eterna. I wished I had never had to visit this place again, for the memories of what happened here were too sad to even contemplate.

I walked on and tried to avoid the place where my old home lay in ruins, but eventually I couldn't avoid it. I walked into a massive clearing which was less grass and trees and more giant crater.

The sight of the area that my parents and friends had died almost brought me to tears. Memories that I had spent years trying to prise from my mind's grasp were haunting me once more; the sight of the two legendary Pokémon battering each other above the city, possibly unaware that they were destroying the homes of hundreds; my mother's face as she told me that I had to evacuate; the sight of my father and the elders all huddling together to do one last good deed and save the whole of Sinnoh.

I spied something at the bottom of the crater. For a crazy second I thought it could be something that I could use to revive my village, but it was a crazy dream that would never come true. Still, I was rather intrigued and I walked down the crater and toward the figure.

As I drew closer I saw it was a Pokémon. It was white with a yellow head and what seemed to be two long, yellow tails on its back.

It seemed that I had just stumbled upon a Jirachi.

But that wasn't all I had stumbled upon. The mythical Pokémon was surrounded by a pack of Persian. Nasty creatures – sometimes they torture other Pokémon. I couldn't just let them pick on Jirachi so I ran to help.

One of the Persians saw me and pounced, trying to get a Fury Swipe on me. I dodged it and batted the Pokémon away with an aura Sphere. This distracted the attention from the Jirachi and onto me. The Persian tried to attack me but I was too fast and too powerful for them. They tried to get a claw in but I always had some sort of retaliation for them.

It was a matter of seconds before they all lay in a heap on the floor. I ran towards Jirachi and picked it up. The Persian would soon wake up and they would surely want revenge. I sprinted to the other side of the crater and back into the safety of the trees.

"Are you OK?" I asked the small Pokémon when I was sure that the Persian weren't going to find us.

"Um... yeah. Thanks," it said.

"No problem," I said. "Why were they attacking you? You didn't do anything to them, did you?" It wasn't beyond the realms of possibility that this tiny Jirachi could have attacked first. I've heard accounts of when Team Magma of the Hoenn Region had tried to resurrect Groudon – the Doom Desire attack which Jirachi had used to destroy the resulting fake entity had been extremely powerful, and this was proof enough that Jirachi isn't as sweet as it seems.

"It's... it's Team Rocket! They are trying to take me to experiment on me!"

"Team Rocket? The Pokémon thieves from Kanto?"

"Yes!" Jirachi said. "I don't know what they want from me but they sure want it bad!"

As it spoke I heard a rustling in the bushes behind us. I turned as quick as a flash, an Aura Sphere already forming in my paws. Jirachi hid behind me and I felt it shiver with fear.

Suddenly something leapt out of the bush and hit me with a scorching Blaze Kick. I was knocked backwards but I did a back flip and landed back on my feet, already charging forward. I launched the Aura Sphere at my foe, who couldn't dodge it. However, it was strong and I didn't quite knock it off its feet.

This gave me time to analyse my foe. A Blaziken. A powerful one. The long hair said male. Probably my age, possibly older by a year or two. It opened its mouth and let out a Flamethrower but I realised that another powerful fire type move like the last could finish me and I jumped out of the way.

I ran toward it with a Thunderpunch in my fist but the Blaziken was fast. It used Sky Upper Cut and sent be flying, but not before I grabbed its hair and brought it with me. We both went crashing into a tree, knocking it to the ground.

I tried to remember Blaziken's types. Fire and Fighting. That gave me plenty of choice of what I could use against it to be super effective. I quickly used psychic and lifted it off me. I threw it to the ground and used Bone Rush, creating a light green bone of energy. Blaziken got up and I smashed the bone into its face before it could realise what I was doing.

It lay on its back, unconscious. Thanks to Medicham, I know every trick in the book. Not even this titan of a Pokémon could outwit or overpower me.

"Jirachi," I called, softly. "Where did you go?"

"Up here," Jirachi called from a tree nearby – fortunately not the one that Blaziken and I had just destroyed.

"Well, you can come down, now. I defeated that Blaziken. We should get as far from this place as possible, just in case the Persian have our scent or the Blaziken recovers quickly."

"I'm afraid it's option two," said a voice from behind me. I quickly tried to swing my bone at the Blaziken, but it jumped out of the way. I was just about to attack it again when it said "Hey, stop, I just want to talk!"

"And I'm supposed to believe that after you just attacked me?" I said.

"I was just trying to see how powerful you were, see if it was worth asking for your help," Blaziken said. "Evidently you're even more powerful than me."

I was cautious but intrigued. "What do you need help with?"

Blaziken went to the tree that had fallen and picked up some sticks. He lay them on the ground and blew an Ember at them, causing them to set alight. "Come and sit down and I'll tell you."

I sat by the campfire and Jirachi joined us. I had not been aware that it was already night time, but now that I was I felt cold and still a bit wet from my brief spell underwater. "I am not a wild Pokémon," Blaziken explained. "I have a trainer. His name is Noel and he is very good at training us, as you saw when I battled you. I was his starter Pokémon in Hoenn, and he caught a Poocheyana and a Wingull when he travelled the region, both of which have evolved. We are an almost unbeatable trio.

"But then... but then a few days ago he got caught in a cave. We were on a holiday here and Noel wanted to catch a Machop, so we got into this cave. But when we were in there we were ambushed by Zubats and Golbats. I got separated from the others and I couldn't find my way back to them. I decided that the only thing I could do was to ask for help.

"But as I exited the cave the entrances all blew up and caved in. Someone had deliberately trapped Noel in that cave and I suppose that he was also separated from Mightyeana and Pelliper. So I need help to find Noel," Blaziken concluded. "And so far you're the only Pokémon that I have come across who is powerful enough to help me. So will you?"

I was in two minds here. On one hand this Blaziken needed some help, and desperate help. But on the other hand, this would be another diversion from my journey home. And who was to say that it wasn't just a trap?

"Well..." I could see Blaziken looking at me expectantly and I knew that it was the right thing to do. "OK. I'll help you. But as soon as we're done I'm heading straight for Mt. Cornet. Your trainer had better not try to catch me."

"Don't worry," Blaziken said. "Noel only catches basic stage Pokémon. He says it shows true greatness when you can train a weak Pokémon to be strong."

"Good." I looked at Jirachi. "Do you have any plans to do anything else, or will you come with us?"

Jirachi hesitated for a second, seeming to be deciding something. But the she said, "I'll go with you."

"Alright, let's go. Lead the way, Blaziken."

And so we set off to find Blaziken's trainer.

_Just to remind you, if you enjoyed this and you wish to read more of my utterly brilliant stories then just go onto Google and type in "Lucas S Robinson" and the top result should be my blog. It would be a great help because if you don't read it I will lose my lifelong dream to be an author and I will stop writing fan fiction, so you won't have anything decent to read. Thank you._


	5. Doom's Desire

_Here is the next part of Back Home for you to enjoy._

"This is it. This is the cave."

All I could see was rocks. Small rocks, all piled upon each other. I guessed that this was what had happened when the entrances had exploded. We had travelled for hours, out of Eterna Forest and past Floaroma town. Finally we had reached the cave which Blaziken spoke of, a cave known as the Ravaged Path.

"It is?" I said. "Are you sure?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Blaziken replied, a little too eager.

"Hmm..." something rung slightly strange about this, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"If we work together I'm sure we can shift all these rocks," Blaziken said, moving forward to start to unblock the cave mouth.

"Just stand back," I said. I used my Bone Rush again, whacking the rocks with great force. I only had to strike them a few times for an opening to appear.

"Wow," Blaziken said, awestruck. "You are strong!"

"Let's just find Noel," I said, jumping through the hole I had made in the pile of rocks.

"D-don't leave me behind!" wailed a scared Jirachi.

I poked my head back up through the hole. "Don't worry, I won't leave you." I scooped her into my arms and held her tight as we ventured into the cave.

Soon we heard a voice. "Why am I always the one who has to search for rocks? It's not as if we aren't flipping made of rock! Why do we even need them?"

"Wait," Blaziken hissed, stopping us. "A Geodude."

We tried to hide behind a corner but it was too late. The Geodude had spotted us and we couldn't avoid a fight.

"HEY! You're on Geodude territory! Get out or I'll destroy you!"

Jirachi squealed with terror. I charged an Aura Sphere while Blaziken's wrists burst into red hot flames. The Geodude, not realising our power, tried to Tackle us but my Aura Sphere sent it spinning and Blaziken's Flame Punch Knocked it out.

"We'd better move quickly," Blaziken said. We quickened our pace, but it wasn't long before we heard some more voices:

"Where's the pond? I need the pond!"

"Donald? Where are you?"

"What's this?"

"That's my tail! Stop biting it!"

"Who are you?"

"I don't know!"

Turning round the corner were a group of Psyduck. They looked lost and confused, but when do Psyduck _not_ look lost and confused?

But even through their amnesia they noticed us as a threat. One used Psychic, while another spat a Water Gun at us. Two of them seemed to be trying to scratch each other, but another was using disable.

Blaziken was picked up by the Psychic but the Psyduck using it got dizzy and just fainted. The Water Gun which the other had been using was cancelled out by the Disable that the last Psyduck had been using. This made the Water Gunning Psyduck panic and run around, eventually bumping into a wall and knocking itself out. The two Psyduck who had been attacking each other were already out cold, so only one was left. That one, realising that it was faced with me and Blaziken, fainted with fear.

"Wh-what just happened?" Jirachi asked, sounding almost as confused as the Psyduck we had just encountered.

"Psyduck just happened," I sighed.

We moved on. We were travelling for a few minutes when Blaziken said "We're almost there! Just a little way to go..."

Unfortunately, at that point we heard a squeaking. It was the unmistakable squeal of a cloud of Zubat.

"Not again!" I yelled in frustration. "We've been attacked by everything so far!" Then the realisation hit me. "Everything except..."

Before I could voice my thoughts the Zubat came around the corner. Blaziken used Flamethrower, taking a few out, but more were coming. I protracted my Metal Claws and slashed at them, plucking them out of the sky one by one. Much slashing later and we were alone again, surrounded by limp, blue bodies.

Blaziken was breathing hard. So was I. "We work as a pretty good team, huh?"

As quick as a flash I turned towards him, claws up against his throat, backing him against the wall.

"Why have you brought me here?" I demanded.

"I don't have a clue wh..."

"WHY HAVE TOU BROUGHT ME HERE!?" I bellowed. "Your story was very convincing, I'll give you that. You had me fooled up until now. But there's one minor detail you forgot. This is the Ravaged Path. Machop can't be caught here."

Blaziken just sighed. "Yes, that was a bit of a mistake..."

Suddenly we were surrounded by light. The contrast from dark to light hurt my eyes and I was blinded for a second. "Very good, Blaziken," a voice echoed from somewhere behind me. "You have served your purpose well."

"I've brought you what you need," Blaziken said, "now give me what is mine."

I looked behind, still keeping my claws at Blaziken's neck. I hadn't realised that we were no longer in a narrow passage but a huge room. There were complicated looking machines against all the walls and a massive one in the centre. This one looked like a giant Pokéball, except there were pipes connecting it to the other machines and a keypad on the side of it.

A man was leaning against the Pokéball. He was tall and thin and he was wearing a long, black cape. The rest of his clothes were also black and on the right side of his chest was an emblem with a red R and the words "Team Rocket" around it.

"Who the hell are you?" I said to the man. Then, turning back to Blaziken, I added, "And more importantly, who are you?"

"I am Team Rocket Secret Agent Codename Doom," the man said. "And you have brought me my prize!"

Doom walked to a machine and pushed a button. It started to rumble and then, out of its body came a head, arms and a pair of caterpillar tracks. The robot reached over to Jirachi and picked it up, then did the same to me. The front of its body opened up and another hand came out, grabbing Blaziken.

I tried to struggle out but I couldn't. "You'd better start explaining," I growled to Blaziken.

"OK, I lied to you," he said. "I am a wild Pokémon. There is no Noel. I had to lie to you.

"Me and my family were training in this cave the other day. Me, my wife and my two sons, that is. But we stumbled upon this place. Doom saw me and knew I was powerful, so he trapped my family and threatened to kill them if I didn't find Jirachi."

I looked over into the corner of the room where I saw a glass cylinder with a pipe leading into it. Inside were two Torchic and a Combusken. They looked terrified.

"Jirachi? So this is nothing to do with me?" I said, slightly disappointed that I wasn't the reason that I was caught.

"Of course not," Doom snapped. "I was assigned by Team Rocket to build a machine that could create any Pokémon that at all. This is a hard thing to do, but eventually I came up with this." He pointed towards the giant Pokéball, looking very pleased with himself. "As long as I have Jirachi's power of wishes I can create anything, from a useless little Magikarp to an almighty Arceus!"

Jirachi looked scared. Blaziken looked very scared. I didn't know how I looked but I was scared. If Doom were to bring an Arceus to life, who knows what the real Arceus would do?

"So when I saw you with Jirachi I knew I had to try and defeat you," Blaziken explained. "When that didn't work I tried getting you on my side. So I had to quickly think of a story. I guess I messed up there."

"But it's too late because now I shall use Jirachi's power and destroy you!" The robot holding the three of us moved towards the Pokéball and a hole appeared in it. The robot placed Jirachi inside the hole and it closed again.

For a few seconds nothing happened. Then the giant ball started to glow, making a loud beeping sound.

"Yes!" Doom cried. "I have done it!"

I couldn't let this happen. "Do you know Strength?" I mumbled to Blaziken.

"Yes," he replied.

"Then I suggest you use it NOW!" We both used Strength with all our might, trying to break free of the robots grasp. Eventually the hands burst apart and we dropped to the ground.

"NO!" Doom screamed. "If you dare touch this machine I will pump poisonous gas into the enclosure I am keeping your family in, Blaziken!"

Blaziken stopped but I didn't. I Thunder Punched the Pokéball, happening to hit upon the place where the robot had placed Jirachi inside. I reached in, grabbed her and yanked her out.

The machine stopped glowing and its beeps fell silent. Doom roared with frustration and got from his back pocket a remote with a big, red button on it. Before I could stop him he pushed the button.

A green gas suddenly started pumping into the glass cylinder which contained the Torchic and Combusken. I ran to it and Thunder Punched it. It didn't crack. I tried again and again and I kept on punching but it was no use. I looked behind me at Blaziken. He was frozen, the prospect of losing his family and being powerless to stop it now facing him. "I-I'm sorry," I said, a tear rolling down my face.

But Jirachi seemed to be heating up. I looked down and saw that she was using Doom Desire! "J-Jirachi! You're..."

I couldn't finish what I was saying because Jirachi released Doom Desire. It sent the two of us flying in the opposite direction, but I saw with relief that it had broken open the cylinder. We landed on the hard, stone floor but I was strong and I got straight up.

I heard a shout. It was Blaziken. "It's caving in! This whole place is caving in!"

I grabbed Jirachi and started to run out of the room. But as I looked behind I saw Doom; he was scared as he knew he would die. I cursed myself as my soft side took over. I ran back, grabbed him in the arm that didn't currently have Jirachi in and I carried them both out.

Blaziken and his family were too far ahead to be seen but I knew the way back. I saw the exit to the cave and I breathed a sigh of relief as I jumped through the hole.

I landed in a heap, Jirachi and Doom next to me. I was exhausted and I didn't want to get up but I forced myself to do so. Blaziken was standing there, the Combusken (who I guessed was his wife) standing by his side and the Torchic playing together.

"Why did you save him?" Blaziken asked, pointing towards Doom. There was a bitter edge in his voice which I had not heard before in the few hours I had known him.

"I couldn't let him die," I said. "Just like I couldn't let your family die."

He opened his mouth to protest but the Combusken hushed him. "Thanks," he said instead. "If it weren't for you I wouldn't still have a family."

"Well, if you ever need any help with evil diabolical scientists again, I'll probably be available. I'll be at Mt. Cornet."

I turned to Jirachi, but she was floating away. "H-hey! Where are you going?"

"Home," she said. I will be back for you when you most need me..."

"What does that mean? Can you be a little less cryptic?" I called.

And then she disappeared. I turned back to Blaziken. "Well, I'd better go now. I've got a mountain to climb and a girlfriend to save so, er see you around."

"Yeah," Blaziken said. "See you around."

I walked off. For a few seconds I wondered where on earth my home was but then I saw it. I was close now. Very close.

"Not long now, Medicham," I whispered, half to myself and half to Medicham, wherever she was. Then, with her in my mind I started to run towards where I knew she was.

_Don't forget to Google "Lucas S. Robinson" from more stories from yours truly (alas, none about Pokémon)._


	6. The Climb

_It's time for more of my brilliant story writing. Please enjoy and leave me a comment afterwards, even if it's just to say "That's an awesome story," or something. Thank You._

Mt. Cornet. The mountain which separates the two sides of Sinnoh. The mountain which is responsible for the two different forms of Shellos. The mountain that I call home.

The mountain which I was starting to climb.

For a Lucario of my strength the climbing was no problem, and nor were the weak Ice Type Pokémon that tried to block my path. What was hard for me was that I knew I was so close, yet I felt so far. What if Medicham wasn't there? What if Rayquaza had knocked her off the mountain, too, and she had had to travel even further than me? What if... what if...

No. I wouldn't even consider the thought.

After an hour's climb I decided to rest. I still had a way to climb and I needed to preserve as much energy as possible, just in case I encountered some real trouble. I looked around. The snowy landscape wasn't a very good place to scavenge berries, so I was basically going to go hungry. Of course, I could maybe find some food that a foolish trainer had dropped, but it would be very unlikely for me to find anything.

I sat down underneath a pine tree, away from the snow. The needles were sharp but a part of my training had been endurance and this was the exact exercise that Medicham had made me do. Thinking of Medicham took me to the happy days when we trained often, when training was to become stronger, not just a routine to keep that strength. The feeling to have learnt something new was one that I would only have again if I found a Technical Machine, and that isn't the same, really.

I closed my eyes and tried to picture Medicham's face. The most beautiful thing I had ever seen. How I longed to be with her again. I would be soon... very soon...

I don't know how long I slept for, but I slept. The only sleep I'd had before that was when I had been unconscious on Pidgeot and that had only been for a couple of hours. After Arceus knows how many hours, I was awoken by a zapping sound.

As soon as I opened my eyes I jumped up into the tree that I was sitting under. I franticly climbed up it, trying to get away from the electrical attack. When I was satisfied with my height I peered through a gap in the branches.

I got a quick glance of a Luxray but then it was gone. The same Luxray which had attacked me and Pidgeot when we had returned to Sinnoh. Why was it attacking me? What had I done to it?

I jumped back down the tree and decided not to pursue it. It must have been the blue Pokémon that I had spied on Rayquaza's back the night I had been knocked off the mountain. I would encounter it again.

I was about to start climbing again when a great, lumbering figure stood before me. An Abomasnow. "You're trespassing, buddy," it said.

"It's a free world," I said to the Abomasnow.

"Not here, it isn't," it said. "Now get away or get beaten!"

"Unlikely," I retorted, giving it a strong jab to the stomach. It was knocked backwards, shocked at my power, but it didn't fall. "Boys!" it called when it had recovered and two more Abomasnow stepped forward.

"OK, guys, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," I said, slightly intimidated by the sight of three of these giants.

They all charged at me with loud roars.

"The hard way, then," I muttered more to myself than anyone, charging towards my opponents.

The two beasts at the sides were using Ice Punch and the other was using Wood Hammer. I ducked and all three of them ran straight over me. I spun around before they could and used Metal claw on all three at once. They didn't stand a chance, and all three fell on the ground unconscious.

"The hard way for you, that is," I mumbled and started to climb the mountain again.

I was only going five minutes, however, before I was attacked. This time it was not by an Ice type Pokémon but an Electric Type.

I looked up to see that the Luxray was, once again, firing Thunderbolts at me. I quickly summoned a bone rush and batted away the attacks, walking towards my attacker.

Eventually I was so close that it had no choice but to run away. I knew this and I was one step ahead. I tripped the lion Pokémon up with my bone and protracted my Metal Claws, pointing them towards it.

"Why are you attacking me?" I demanded. "Can't you leave me in peace?"

"I will tell you nothing!" the Luxray cried, defiant. Its voice was not as deep as a male Luxray's would be, so I guessed it was female. But there was something familiar in the voice, too, something in the tone...

In that moment I found the piece of the puzzle that I had been missing. With this piece the rest of the picture became clear to me. As I realised the shocking truth I let my guard down and Luxray shot a powerful discharge at me. It knocked me back for long enough to allow Luxray the time to jump back up and run away.

I watched her go. She was definitely going to be at the top, so there was no need to chase her. Now that I knew what dangers lay in wait for me at the top, however, I was determined to reach the peak of the mountain quickly.

Unfortunately, I hadn't climbed very far before a lost Pokémon trainer spotted me. He was tall, at least fifteen years old, with a pair of glasses perched upon his nose.

"Hey, a Lucario!" he cried when he saw me. "That's awesome! I'm gonna catch it! Go Monferno!"

He threw a Pokéball at the floor a few meters in front of me and it opened up, releasing the orange monkey in a flash of blue light.

"Use Mach Punch, Monferno!" the puny trainer commanded.

"Take this!" Monferno yelled, punching me in the stomach before I could respond.

It was a weak attack. I stood strong and used Bone Rush, batting Monferno away. I was quite taken aback at the fact that it wasn't defeated straight away but as its trainer commanded it to use Fire Punch I was ready and I whacked it with enough force to knock it out.

"Wha- how did you do that?" the trainer said, bewildered. "No matter, because I have more Pokémon! Go Cacnea!"

I groaned. "Please don't make me fight. I've got some important business at the top of this mountain."

"Wow, you have telepathy!" the boy said. "I've always wanted a Pokémon that could talk to me!"

"Well, it's not gonna be me," I said, turning around to run away.

As I turned, however, I felt something hit me in the back of my head. I didn't even have time to let out a little utterance of pain before I felt a sensation like none I had ever experienced before. My body seemed to be contorting into different shapes, twisting and bending until it found the right one, and then I felt as if I was being pulled into something. Then I began to feel as if my body was being squashed into an incredibly small gap and locked inside. There was a red flashing light and all I knew was that I had to try and burst free. I pushed against the walls of my enclosure, using Strength to increase my power, and finally I broke it open. I felt a great relief as my body stretched back to its normal shape and size. I collapsed onto the floor, exhausted. As I sat up I saw that by my side was a broken, yellow and black Pokéball.

"What?! How did you break free of my Ultra Ball?" the trainer cried.

I sighed. "Look, I could get through every single one of your Pokémon and survive every Ultra Ball you threw at me. Why waste your time? Why waste mine?"

The trainer thought for a second, then said "Well, how about if you didn't struggle? That way I could catch you and you don't have your time wasted! Simple!"

"No!" I yelled. "I need to get to the top of this mountain. My girlfriend is up there, probably fighting off some evil Pokémon, and I need to save her!"

The trainer looked at me and then smiled. "OK, I'll leave you alone."

"Thank you," I said. "You don't know how much I value your kindness."

"In fact, I'll help you get there!" the trainer said. He grabbed from his belt an Ultra Ball and threw it in the air. There was a flash of blue light and out of it came a Pidgeot.

"Hey, Lucario! I didn't expect to see you here!" Pidgeot said. I smiled as I recognised the Pokémon who had flown me away from and to Sinnoh all in one day.

"Nice to see you again!" I said. "How did you get caught?"

"Well, I was flying back to the mountain and Timothy here caught me," Pidgeot replied. "He wanted to climb the mountain to find some Ice Type Pokémon."

"Wait, you know each other?" Timothy exclaimed, not believing what he was hearing (well, from me anyway).

"It's a long story," I said. "So, I guess Pidgeot is going to fly me up here."

"Yep! Use Fly, Pidgeot!" Timothy commanded.

"When do you think we should tell humans that Fly isn't technically an attack?" Pidgeot joked to me.

"Let's leave it," I replied, jumping on my friend's back.

We flew up the mountain in a matter of seconds and I jumped off of Pidgeot's back and onto the icy ground.

"Come and visit some time," I said as I bid the bird Pokémon goodbye.

"I will," he said and he was gone.

There was a roar from behind me. I turned to face it. Rayquaza was watching me with great anticipation. It charged towards me but I jumped over it, landing safely away from the ledge.

"Just quit with the disguises. I know who you are." I said in a quiet voice, but one that could be heard clearly, even over the wind.

Rayquaza laughed for a few seconds and then flew back towards me. It glowed a dark purple before shrinking into a smaller shape. It was slightly taller than me, with a giant mass of red hair growing from its head, seemingly tied into a ponytail. Its body was grey and its claws were red, and it stared at me with stunning, blue eyes.

"Hello, Zoroark," I said. "How nice it s to see you again."

_Sorry to leave you on such a cliff-hanger. Don't forget to Google "Lucas S. Robinson" for more of my brilliant stories._


	7. The Final Battle

_This is the penultimate chapter of Back Home so be sure to enjoy it and come back next week for the final part. I am sorry that I didn't write last week, but I was taking a week to perfect my two blogs and this chapter._

I looked around me at the mountain that, on a normal day, I called home. The small cave that me and Medicham slept in was still there as normal but it wasn't illuminated like it usually was when we were awake in the day. The chilly wind was blowing through my fur and it would have been hard for any normal creature to see but my Aura vision helped me.

Zoroark was staring at me with a smirk on his face. "So, you guessed that it was me, did you?"

"You didn't cover your tracks well," I growled.

Zoroark laughed. "I didn't want to cover my tracks," he said. "I wanted to see if you are as smart as I remember. You are. I'm very impressed."

"What happened to you?" I asked. "We were such good friends in the Village. Why do you now want to kill me?"

"Because, Lucario, you are a traitor," Zoroark said in a hardly audible voice but one that practically oozed venom. "You are a traitor and a coward."

Zoroark's words shocked and hurt me. "Why am I a coward?" I demanded.

"Because you abandoned the village. You didn't try to stay and help. You ran away from the danger while our friends and family were destroyed!" Zoroark was shouting now, as if the more he spoke about it the more it angered him.

"I... My mother told me to leave. We were all leaving! And I had Medicham to worry about!"

"Oh, you had Medicham to worry about, did you? You had your little girlfriend Medicham to worry about, did you?" Zoroark stepped to the side and I saw that at the other edge of the mountain was the same Luxray that had attacked me throughout my adventure – the same Luxray that I had known as a Shinx when I was a child, just as I had known Zoroark as a Zorua. Sitting beside her was Medicham, feet and arms tied up with bands of dark energy, evidently to prevent her from being able to use psychic powers.

"Medicham!" I yelled, running to her but being blocked by a giant, blue Rock Type Pokémon that I didn't recognise, with red crystals protruding from its body.

"Gigalith," it said, turning back into Zoroark. "A Pokémon from my old region. Not very fast but it could probably knock you out in one strike."

"Can't you just let us go?" I begged.

"No," Zoroark replied, harshly. "You must pay for your cowardice and your betrayal."

"Well, how did _you _escape the village, then?" I asked.

"I was already outside the village when it happened," he replied, evidently angry but composed enough not to release his fury. "Luxray and I were chased out by that idiot, Machop. He chased us through the forest and we couldn't find our way back. When we finally navigated ourselves back to the village it was when the legendary Pokémon were already attacking the village and we saw the explosion. Then we saw you and Medicham going in the direction of Mt. Cornet. I knew that you had left the city to die. I knew I must kill you."

"But you don't have to," I said. "I could not have helped the village, so running was the only option. There wasn't anything I could do."

"LIAR!" Zoroark yelled. His claws glowed red and he threw a Night Slash at me. I jumped backwards and returned his attack with an Aura Sphere. It would have hit him but he turned into a Mismagius and it flew straight through him. He cackled and transformed again, this time into a Torterra. Before I could react to this transformation a giant, spiky root exploded from the ground. It tried to strike me but I jumped high into the air. I landed on the root and ran up it, avoiding more roots that were also trying to knock me to the ground.

I jumped and tried to use Double Kick but Zoroark transformed again – this time into a Machamp. He used Karate chop but I was one step ahead of him; I charged an Aura Sphere and, at the exact moment that he was about to hit me, I held the Sphere in front of me. For a second we were evenly matched, him with his karate chop trying to strike me and me with my Aura Sphere as a shield, but eventually he overpowered me.

"AGHR!" I screamed as I fell backwards. No Pokémon ever overpowered me, not even Medicham who had taught me all that I knew. It was more the shock that Zoroark had done so than the actual attack which left me paralysed on the frozen ground. Zoroark tried to Karate Chop me again but I came back to my senses and rolled away from him.

"Quit with the disguises," I roared, jumping to my feet. "This should be a fair fight!"

Zoroark hesitated a second. After seeing that I hadn't attempted to lunge at him and that I meant what I said he turned back into Zoroark. "You'd better get ready for a slaughtering," he said, his claws turning red.

"I don't need to get ready – I always slaughter people," I replied, protracting my Metal Claws.

We charged at each other.

Zoroark took the first swipe but I was too quick. I used detect to slide out of his path, then slashed at him with my claws. He had also anticipated my move, however, and jumped backwards to avoid my attack. He ran at me and managed to hit me with Night Slash, sending me sprawling.

By some uncanny luck and a little bit of misjudgement from Zoroark I had landed right beside Medicham. I looked up at her and almost cried. She looked battered and bruised because she had not been able to defend herself against her captors. "M-Medicham!" I choked.

"I would love us to have a touching reunion but it seems that we have no time," Medicham replied, bringing me to my senses. I sliced through the bands of dark energy around her wrists and ankles easily with my Metal Claws and she was free before Zoroark could react.

"You ready?" I asked Medicham.

"Of course I am," she replied.

While I am a formidable opponent on my own I am not unbeatable. Every now and again a Pokémon such as Zoroark will come along and they will put on quite a fight. This is where Medicham comes in. The two of us have trained together for as long as I can remember and we have tried to mix our attacks together to create what we call "Combine Attacks". Some haven't worked but we have found some that are devastating to say the least.

"Soul Fist!" I yelled to give Medicham the signal.

I threw a large Aura Sphere at Zoroark. He dodged it easily, obviously thinking that I had grown weaker as the battle had gone on. He was incorrect. Medicham ran towards the sphere, punching it in the direction of Zoroark. It exploded, enveloping her fist in an azure fire and she hit our old friend in the chest with it. The combination of the two Fighting Type attacks was enough to bring Zoroark crashing to the ground.

We weren't finished yet, though. "Psycho Claws!" I called, running at the fallen figure of Zoroark with my claws protracted. They glowed pink as Medicham focused her psychic powers into the claws and I slashed at Zoroark. It was only a small scratch, for I didn't want to actually kill Zoroark, but it was enough to cause him great pain.

"No!" he screamed, squirming with the pain. Then he repeated it softer. "No..." He fell to the ground and was still.

"What should we do with him?" Medicham asked me, coming to stand beside me.

"Find some berries," I ordered. "We will heal him to full health and send him on his way. He may have tried to kill me but he was my frie..."

Our biggest mistake was not checking if Zoroark was actually beaten. In a second he had shot his dark energy bindings back onto the wrists of my beloved girlfriend and jumped onto his feet. He punched me in the face and, although it wasn't a Fighting Type move, it was solid as a rock and I fell to the ground.

"I WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!" Zoroark roared, standing over me. "YOU ARE INFEROR TO ME! I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

I saw his claws turn red and I felt him grab me by the throat. "Goodbye, old friend," he said with a smile of pure evil on his face.

I could see the determination in his eyes, but for a second I also saw a hesitation. Maybe he had overheard my conversation with Medicham. Maybe he had remembered me as the friend I had been. Maybe he just couldn't bring himself to kill me, or even to kill at all. For whatever reason it was a hesitation and it seems that it was the hesitation that saved my life, because in that second something large and yellow charged into Zoroark, knocking him off of me and over the edge of the mountain.

I scrambled up and looked over the edge. Zoroark was falling into the mist and so was Luxray. I had wondered where she had been but there had never been a moment when I had thought that she was plotting Zoroark's death.

"Zoroark," I said to myself, quietly but unable to stop it from turning into a sob. I crawled over to Medicham and released her again, tears still stinging my eyes.

"I can't believe that just happened," I said, not particularly talking to Medicham but hoping she would answer. When she didn't I said "Why would Luxray kill him?"

"If I had tried to kill someone who you knew was pretty much innocent, what would you do?" Medicham replied after a few seconds of silence.

"That's not the same!" I protested. "You're my girlfriend! Why would it be – oh," I said as I worked out what she was saying.

"My guess is that Luxray loved Zoroark so much that she didn't want to see him turn into a murderer," Medicham explained. "I would do the same to you. You would to me."

"I just wish I had a way of changing things," I muttered through the tears.

"Don't worry, Lucario. They're together and that's the best place they can be. Surely it's better that than – what on earth is that?"

I looked up but I had looked straight into the sun and it blinded me. I was cursing my stupidity but then a thought came to me; it was a totally cloudy day today. Like almost every single day on Mt. Cornet.

I looked back up, shielding my eyes from the light. It hurt my eyes but at its core I could just make out a small, yellow and white figure floating towards us. I knew what it was.

"Jirachi," I said in awe and my tears turned to laughter.

_Don't forget to visit my blog (you should know how to get there by now) and come back next week for the last chapter of Back Home._


	8. Wishes

_Sorry about the wait but the best things must be waited for. The last chapter is here and all the question that remain to be answered will be answered._

"What are you doing here?" I asked Jirachi after I had introduced her to Medicham.

She smiled in a mysterious kind of way. "What is the last thing I said before I lost you?"

It was a sudden question. Why would this be important? "Um... I don't..." Then it hit me. "You said "I will be back for you when you most need me." What does that – you can help me?"

"I am the wish Pokémon," Jirachi explained. "I will grant you three wishes. Anything at all but be careful – once you have made these wishes you will never see me again."

I was stunned. I had three wishes. Anything at all. The first thing that popped into my mind was that I should bring Zoroark back from the dead, and Luxray too. But then I heard Medicham whisper something. It was tiny and it took me a couple of seconds to understand what she meant; "The village!"

I was about to agree with her but Jirachi suddenly said "I wouldn't wish for that if I were you."

"What? Why?" I demanded.

Jirachi floated closer to us and sat upon a small rock. "You remember the explosion that destroyed your village, don't you?" she asked.

"Well... yes, how can we forget?" I replied.

"It didn't destroy the village." She said it as if it was a normal thing and she looked at me and Medicham as if we were idiots for thinking that it had been destroyed.

"But – we saw it disappear!" Medicham protested. "We saw the crater where it used to be! How couldn't it have been destroyed?"

"It's very simple, really," Jirachi said. "Dialga and Palkia both fired their signature moves – Roar of Time and Spacial Rend, respectively – at each other at the same time and the two attacks hit each other with immense force. The two moves are dangerously powerful; Spacial Rend can rip the very fabric of space, while Roar of Time can manipulate all of time. Combine the two and a very strange thing happens."

Jirachi paused to let these facts sink in. "So... what happens?" I finally asked.

"When the two moves collide anything in the resulting blast will be flung across all time and space."

Medicham gasped and I think I must have, too. "So... the village is not destroyed? It's just somewhere else, in another time?" I asked, cautiously.

"Yes," Jirachi said. "So I shan't grant you this wish, for today is the day that the village is returning to its original place."

This news overjoyed me. The village, which I had thought was dead for four years, was very much alive! "We should travel there immediately!" I said to Medicham.

"No I don't think we should," she said.

I was shocked. Surely she wanted to return to our home as much as I did! Why wouldn't she? "Our parents... our friends... do you not want to see them again?"

"I... They won't recognise us, Lucario, and if they do it would be like... I don't know how to explain it..."

"It wouldn't be the same as before." Jirachi intervened. "Your childhood is gone and you did not get the opportunity to spend it like an ordinary Pokémon. Seeing your friends would be hopeless, for they would be still young and you would have matured much more than them. This is your life and you can never go back."

As Jirachi spoke I realised that I agreed with both her and Medicham. "Maybe we can visit sometime," I suggested. "Maybe not to stay, but maybe as a sort of holiday."

"Yes," Medicham said. "That would be a good idea."

For a moment I was happier than I had ever been before. I was back with Medicham and I had found out that if I so wished I could return to where I had been born. But then I remembered Zoroark and Luxray and I became sad again.

"Your three wishes now, please," Jirachi said, bringing me back to the present.

"Zoroark," I said before Medicham could say anything. "I wish for Zoroark and Luxray to be back here, alive and well."

"Wait!" Medicham said. "What if he tries to kill us again?"

"He won't," I reassured her. "There was a hesitation before he was going to kill me before. He doesn't want to kill me and if he knows that the village is back I am sure he will greet us with open arms."

Medicham was still uncertain at first but she saw that I was determined to wish for this and she eventually said "OK."

I looked at Jirachi and said "So, that's our wish." She closed her eyes and for a second she started to glow. At first I thought she was using Doom Desire again but then the eye in her stomach opened. A bright light emitted from it and from the light came two figures; Zoroark and Luxray.

"Where... Where am I?" Zoroark asked in a confused tone.

"You're with us," I said.

Suddenly Zoroark snapped out of his trance. "Lucario?" he screamed. He charged at me and wrestled me to the ground. "I may not have killed you last time but I'm gonna do it this time!" He raised his glowing, red claws but before he could bring them down on me there was a shout – "STOP!"

Zoroark stopped. For a moment he was frozen. "Why?" he asked, turning to Luxray with his claws still at my neck.

"Do you not realise what they have just done?" Luxray said. "Lucario and Medicham have just brought us back to life!"

"But... how?" Zoroark demanded. I could see that on the surface he wanted what Luxray said to be false but in his heart he wanted to believe her.

"Jirachi gave us three wishes," Medicham said. "Our first one was to bring you back to life."

"Why did you not wish for the village?" Zoroark screamed.

"We tried," I explained, "but it is already back."

"What? How?" Zoroark bellowed.

Medicham and I explained the situation to him. As we spoke a smile grew on his face and he released me. I even saw tears in his eyes but he covered them up, saying that he had some snow in his eyes from the icy wind.

"And we're just trying to find two more wishes," Medicham finished.

"Actually, I already have another wish," I cut in. "When I went to Atlantis I encountered a crazy King Mudkip. I made him evolve into Swampert, which upset him greatly. So my wish is to make him devolve into Mudkip, and to stay like that until such a time comes that he wishes to evolve again."

"Certainly," Jirachi said. She faced the sea and the blue light from her third eye shot into the distance.

Far away, in the underwater city of Atlantis, a Swampert who ruled over the mythical city was weeping in his throne, mourning the loss of his beloved Mudkip form. He decided that it would be best if he went back to his bed. There he could mourn in peace.

But as he stood to go he was hit by a beam of blue light. He screamed with the shock and, with horror, he realised that he was shrinking! "Help!" he yelled but as he did he felt himself fall onto his hands. Except they weren't hands. They were front feet. The front feet of a Mudkip.

His weeps of grief became weeps of happiness as he devolved into Mudkip.

"I can't think of anything else to wish for," I said when Jirachi had declared the wish to have worked.

"Neither can I," Medicham said.

"I can," Zoroark said.

We all looked at him. "What is it?" Luxray asked.

"I wish that – no, it's stupid. They're your wishes anyway."

"We can't think of anything," I said. "What do you want."

"Well... you know how you said that it wouldn't be good for us to go to the village to soon because we are no longer young?"

"Um... yeah," I said, seeing where he was going with this.

"Well... we could devolve, just like that Mudkip. We could go back to the village as kids. We could have our childhood again!"

I didn't know what to say. It could work, I thought. In fact, what Zoroark said was the best idea I had ever heard.

"Would - would everyone be happy with that?" I asked.

Medicham and Luxray nodded. I turned to Jirachi but she knew what I was going to say already.

"I can grant you this wish," she said, "but you must know that once it has been done it cannot be undone."

I looked at my friends and saw that they all wanted this as much as me. "Let's do it I said."

Jirachi's eye snapped open and before I could take in what was happening I was engulfed in a blue light. I was blinded but I could feel myself shrinking. I felt like I was being compressed and my bones were getting thin and weak. After a few minutes of this strange process the light faded and I saw that I was a Riolu again.

I looked at Medicham – Meditite now. And Zoroark and Luxray had now become Zorua and Shinx again. I was so happy and I looked up to thank Jirachi but she was flying back upwards!

"Goodbye, friends," she said as she floated away.

"No, wait!" I cried. She had done it again – when I had least expected it she had decided to disappear. "Can't you at least help us home?"

"You have had three wishes," Jirachi said in a voice so faint that I hardly heard it. "Farewell, and may good fortune always be with you..."

And she was gone.

I stared at the sky for a moment until Zorua said to me "So, are we going to go?"

"In the morning," I said. "I don't know about you but I am exhausted."

"Alright," he agreed.

For a moment we just stared at each other. Just five minutes ago we had been worst enemies and here we were, the best of friends once again. A broken friendship healed once again.

I looked out at the horizon. I could see the mass of trees that was Eterna Forest. That was where we were going. I would have a second chance at a childhood. All the attacks I had already learnt would be re-learnt. All of my childhood memories could be experienced again.

After four years I was going back home.

_I hope you have enjoyed this story. I don't think I will be writing any more Fan Fiction for a while; I haven't got enough solid ideas and I must concentrate on my blogs. Speaking of which, please visit m blog if you want to read more brilliant fiction (even if it isn't Fan Fiction). Thank you for reading and ciao._


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